The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for sharing information with peers over a wireless communication network and, more particularly, but not exclusively to an apparatus and a method for sharing information with peers over a wireless communication network in peer-to-peer connections.
A web log (Blog) is defined, inter alia, as a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. A Blog often contains information about what is occurring in a person's life, in a certain area of specialty, such as sport, law, and medicine, what is occurring over the Internet, or any combination thereof. Blogs that contain information about what is occurring in a person's life are used as a living journal, an online chronicle of personal, creative and organizational life. During the last years, Blogs have grown in number, content, and audience. It is believed that the very growth in the usage of Blogs indicates that they respond to a significant user demand. Internet users are increasingly visiting Blogs for the freshest and fastest moving content over the Internet and for the most insightful expert commentary on topics they are interested in.
Bloggers often have a strong desire to express themselves in many different ways on the web. Mobile communication devices provide a new method to publish and update Blogs easily. Blogs that consists of content posted to the Internet from a mobile or portable device, such as a cellular phone or personal digital assistant (PDA), are known, inter alia, as mobile Blogs (MoBlogs). A MoBlog technology allows a user to use her mobile device to post and to update content that is stored in a hosting server that is connected to the Internet.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0019699, issued on Jan. 26, 2006 discloses a method for uploading a web Blog in a mobile communication terminal and system thereof are disclosed, in which the web Blog is composed and stored by off-line using the mobile communication terminal, in which the web Blog is transmitted via a wireless connection to a computer, and by which the users web Blog can be uploaded to a web Blog site. By selecting the upload of the web Blog automatically or manually and by notifying a presence or non-presence of the upload completion to the user, the present invention facilitates the web Blog to be uploaded within wireless Internet access, thereby enhancing convenience of using the mobile communication terminal.
One of the features that contribute to the popularity of MoBlogs is the ability to be updated easily and promptly with new information, which is related to the Blogger or to her area of interest. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0075097, issued on Apr. 7, 2005 discloses a mobile terminal that includes a memory storing application software and data that is descriptive of the use of the mobile terminal, a display, and a controller that is coupled to the memory. The controller is responsive to the application software and to one or more sub-sets of the stored data for visualizing on the display, in a graphical form, the use of the mobile station over a period. The controller preferably constructs a temporally based visualization of the use of the mobile station, such as a timeline visualization of the use of the mobile station. The controller may further be responsive to the application software and to at least the sub-set of the stored data for automatically deriving a content of a user's (Blog). A method is also disclosed to operate a mobile terminal having a memory storing application software and data that is descriptive of the use of the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal has a display and a controller coupled to the memory. The method includes selecting at least a portion of the data and constructing a Blog that is indicative of the use of the mobile station over a period, as indicated by the selected portion of the data. The Blog may include an animation that is indicative of the use of the mobile station over the period, and may include textual data that is generated automatically in accordance with the use of the mobile station over the period.
Though the aforementioned systems and devices allow the uploading of new information to Blogs, which are hosted in Internet-based servers, there is a need for solutions that can provide new advanced capabilities for Bloggers and mobile users.